


Lovely Jet Coaster

by sakuplumeria



Series: Luvly, Merry-Go-Round [4]
Category: Tantei Gakuen Q | Detective Academy Q
Genre: Angst and Feels, Comfort/Angst, Detectives, Dreams vs. Reality, F/M, Family Secrets, Gen, Kyuu saw Ryuu naked but that's as far as it goes, M/M, Mystery, Post-Canon, Q Class goes to New York, Secret Identity
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-13
Updated: 2020-10-29
Packaged: 2021-03-07 18:47:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 13,496
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26992396
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sakuplumeria/pseuds/sakuplumeria
Summary: “Ryuu, is that you?”came a voice from a man with a perfect American accent.Set off by a mysterious email received by Ryuu’s friend back in New York, Q Class was invited to solve a mystery overseas. Along the way, members of Q Class were not only facing the depth of the mystery, but also the depth of their own dreams and paths to take.
Relationships: Amakusa Ryuu/Renjou Kyuu, Narusawa Kazuma/Minami Megumi, Renjou Kyuu/Minami Megumi
Series: Luvly, Merry-Go-Round [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1957429
Kudos: 1





	1. The Beginning

**Author's Note:**

> To avoid language confusion, _dialogues in English will be in italic._

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Case. The client got a mysterious email from a dead person.  
> Characters. They settled in their roles for the case.

“Ryuu, today’s already hot and you drink hot chocolate?” Kinta brought his face near Ryuu’s cup. “It smells nice, though!” Kyuu sniffed at the same cup. Ryuu, who was sitting between them, backed off a little as the heads suddenly blocked him from his cup. “I was never a fan of cold drinks to begin with,” he finally said. “That is actually better for the body, but I’ll stick to milkshakes,” Kazuma drank his chocolate milkshake. “I agree, it’s pretty cool that you can still drink that hot choco in this weather,” Megu smiled sheepishly beside Kazuma.

A waitress came and brought two big plates of french fries, three sandwiches, and two jumbo burgers. “Sorry to keep you waiting!”

“Here it comes, here it comes!” Kyuu grabbed his burger and started eating eagerly.

“It’s always nice to have hearty meals after a long day,” Kazuma munched his sandwich.

“Right! I can’t believe that scary teacher actually forced us to memorize the whole chapter!” Kinta barged.

“Hey, your food’s going everywhere!” Kazuma roared, “and it _is_ harder for you because you haven’t read it, right?” Kinta grinned, “Well, that’s easy for you to say, not having part time jobs everywhere for living!”

“C’mon guys,” Megu’s voice was soft but it stopped the quarrel effectively.

_“Ryuu, is that you?”_ came a voice from a man with a perfect American accent.

_*just a friendly reminder, dialogues in English will be in italic_

Not only Ryuu, but all of the heads turned towards the voice.

There stood a brunette man about Kinta’s height, but probably about five years older than Kinta. He had pale blue eyes that looked like grey from afar. Judging from the casual clothes, short sleeved china collared shirt with sweatpants, he was a diligent person on his holiday. And his two time-zones watch showed that he often went overseas, either for work or holiday. In short, he was a really rich guy.

“Joseph?” Ryuu blinked, twice.

Kyuu stood up and offered a hand, _“Hey, Ryuu’s friend, I’m Kyuu!”_ Joseph smiled and shook his hand, _“Joseph.”_

Ryuu was now standing up beside Kyuu, _“It’s nice to see you, Joseph. Please meet my friends from Q Class.”_ He gestured his hands as he introduced them, _“This is Kinta, Kazuma, and Megu.”_ Then, he gestured his hand to introduce the brunette, _“Guys, meet Joseph Rios.”_ Joseph waved his hand. “I met him from a case back in New York. He’s a chemist,” Ryuu explained.

He turned to look at Joseph, _“What are you doing here in Japan?”_

Joseph turned his body towards Ryuu, _“Actually, my father died last month. After the funeral, I was overwhelmed from my work too, so I guess I needed a break.”_

_“Oh, I’m sorry to hear about your loss,”_ Ryuu lowered his head.

Joseph shook his head slowly, _“He had a condition and we were prepared, so it’s not that bad.”_

_“By the way, this Q Class is from the Dan Detective School you enrolled, right? Actually, I have something to ask.”_ He fetched his phone from his pants and flicked the screen before handing it to Ryuu. Kyuu got closer and Ryuu held the phone for both of them to see. _“See the email? It was sent from my dad, even though he’s already dead.”_

_“May I see the email?”_ Kazuma asked while opening his own laptop. After scanning the email, Ryuu gave the phone to Kazuma. Joseph watched with fascination when Kazuma flicked through his phone with one hand while his other hand worked on the laptop. 

_“I think your father automated this email, triggered to be sent a month after his death certificate is recorded in the health department system,”_ Kazuma said, _“It is a very complex automation, was your father a programmer?”_

Joseph blinked twice before answering shakily, _“W-well, wait what? Programmer? My dad’s a farmer, he’s far from being a programmer...”_ He drew his brows together and added, _“Although... I always wondered why he used a very modern PC with two big screens even though he’s only a farmer.”_

_“What does the email say?”_ Megu asked. Kazuma brought his attention to the phone and began to read, _“If you received this email, then I am no longer in your world. Don’t be sad because believe me, I’m in a better place now. However, my job is not yet finished. Please find my will in the lab and read my confession. I will always be looking after you from up here. Love, can I really say I’m your dad?”_

_“Interesting,”_ Kyuu held his right hand that touched his chin, _“Will you found the will, then?”_

“It’s _‘find’,_ not _‘found’._ And rather than _‘find’,_ you should use the word _‘search’,”_ Ryuu corrected with a smile. Kyuu had been learning English from Ryuu for a year now. He had to catch up with the language because more and more of their study cases were taken from real cases around the world. Kyuu’s mom had given up teaching English to Kyuu a long time ago, so she was so happy to see Kyuu somehow learned fast with Ryuu. And even if he still made minor mistakes, Ryuu was proud to know that Kyuu could understand the current English conversation so far.

And as a native American, Joseph had no problem in understanding what Kyuu wanted to ask. _“Yes, I intend to,”_ Joseph answered. He looked at the young detectives before him and suddenly he had the idea. _“You know what, you guys should come with me!”_

Five heads turned towards him again, _“WHAT?”_

_“Joseph, I know your pharmacy business is going well, but inviting all of us to come is still..."_ Ryuu tried to reason.

But Joseph replied with confidence, _“Nope, it will be MY honor if you guys come with me.”_ His face softened as he said, _“Actually, I don’t want to do this alone and my expertise is limited to chemistry. You guys found out about the email automation in a blink of an eye.”_

He turned to look at Kazuma, _“Sorry, can I have my phone back? I will make this an official request to your Detective School. You won’t have a problem, then, right?”_

Ryuu could not possibly say no if it was an official request, so he smiled, _“We’ll do our best to assist you, Joseph.”_

_“Thank you, thank you so much, really,”_ Joseph gripped Ryuu’s hands before facing Q Class, _“Okay, meet me at the airport at 7 am tomorrow, guys.”_ He waved and exited the restaurant.

It took a few seconds before Ryuu and Kyuu sat again.

“Wow,” Kyuu started, “that was AWESOME!” He beamed with happiness, “I can’t believe we’ll go to New York together! It’s like a dream come true!”

“Yeah, I can’t believe it either,” Megu said.

Kazuma cleared his throat. “I’m sorry to ruin the happy moment, but... I really have to apologize. I really can’t escape from my next game’s release.”

“What? Not again, Kazuma!” Kinta barked. “Can’t help it, man,” Kazuma lowered his head, “I actually really wanted to go as well...”

“Ah, sorry to hear that Kazuma,” Ryuu said.

“It’s okay, Ryuu. I can always help from here, and I can easily connect us to DDS or anyone from here if needed,” Kazuma answered firmly.

“That’s a nice idea, Kazuma,” Kyuu grinned widely. “I believe it will help us a lot!”

Ryuu nodded, “Yes, I believe we’ll be a better team that way.”

Kyuu stretched out his hand above the table, “For Q Class.”

Kinta put his palm above Kyuu’s, “For Q Class.”

Ryuu, Kazuma, and Megu also put their palms above their friends’.

“Let’s do this!” they cheered together.


	2. The Big Apple

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Case. They got the first clue.  
> Characters. They all had jetlag and Kyuu was, drunk probably for the first time.

“Hey guys!” Kyuu waved to Ryuu, Megu, Kinta, and Kazuma who were already waiting in front of the lounge, as Joseph asked. He dropped two gym bags and wiped his forehead.

“What’s in these bags? It’s not like we’re moving to New York, Kyuu,” Kinta commented.

Kyuu chuckled, “Yeah, I told my mom not to add more snacks, but...”

 _“Ryuu! Everyone from Q Class!”_ Joseph emerged from inside the lounge. _“Really nice to have you guys on board, come on let’s go to the plane.”_

_*italic dialogues are in English_

“See you, Kazuma,” Kinta winked. He then slumped his gym bag on his shoulder and grabbed one of Kyuu’s. “Thanks, Kinta!” Kyuu secured his own backpack and grabbed the other gym bag. They went in first while Ryuu secured his slim backpack and Megu grabbed her suitcase handle.

“Hey, Megu,” Kazuma said softly.

Megu turned her head to see the young boy, “Yes, Kazuma?”

Kazuma blushed a little before saying, “Take care.”

“Thank you. You take care too, Kazuma,” Megu smiled and followed Ryuu towards the lounge.

“Wow,” Kyuu’s eyes went wide, “We’re going in a private plane?”

Joseph giggled, _“I don’t know what you’re saying, but if you’re asking whether we’ll go with this, then the answer is yes. I always fly with this private plane.”_

 _“Sweet!”_ Kyuu exclaimed before entering a white with gold crescent private jet.

Ryuu was the last one boarding. He put down his own backpack with his friends’ belongings on one of the single seats near the entrance. He could hear Kyuu’s admiration cries and he smiled.

A hand landed on his shoulder, _“Thanks for really coming, Ryuu,”_ Joseph’s voice was soft and there was a hint of sadness and doubt. He then turned to see the two crews on board and said, _“Everyone’s already on board, let’s get going.”_

One of the crews closed the door while the other stored everyone’s belongings below the seats. The plane was starting to move and the crews went to sit on single seats near the cockpit area while Joseph and the detectives gathered in the area at the center of the aircraft with 2-1 facing 1-2 seating arrangements.

Facing the front, Kinta and Megu took the two seats while Joseph sat at the single seat. Ryuu and Kyuu took the two seats facing Joseph’s and they left the single seat in front of Kinta vacant. They all buckled their seat belts and in a matter of minutes they were already up in the sky.

After the pilot announced the successful take off, Ryuu leaned his body forward and said, _“So Joseph, did anything happen after we met yesterday?”_ Joseph knew his young friend would sense something from his previous action and he answered honestly, _“Last night, my house was burnt.”_

Megu gasped. Then Kyuu, Megu, and Kinta leaned forward to focus their attention to the brunette.

 _“I believe it was deliberately set on fire,”_ Joseph took a leather briefcase from below his seat and took out a folder. _“These are the news I gathered this morning. It happened an hour or two after we met yesterday. That means about dawn in New York yesterday.”_

 _“I wonder if this is related to the email you received,”_ Kyuu said.

 _“That is most probably, but we shouldn’t assume anything at this stage,”_ Ryuu added, _“Is the lab in the house?”_

 _“You mean the lab from the email?”_ Joseph raised one of his eyebrows, _“It’s not actually a lab. So, my dad and I built a small house in the woods. We call that place the lab because my dad records the progress of all his plants there. And that’s where we will go first thing when we land.”_

 _“Will we spend the night there?”_ Megu asked.

Joseph turned to look at Megu and Kinta’s side, _“No, but don’t worry. I have some apartments and hotel rooms.”_

 _“Wow, that’s really nice,”_ Kinta answered.

Ryuu looked at some of the newspaper clips, _“When was the last time you went to the lab?”_

Joseph lowered his head as he was thinking, _“We always go there every year. We haven’t this year though, but I remember we went there last year.”_

 _“I see,”_ Ryuu nodded, _“I also agree that your house seemed to be set on fire on purpose. These damages came from powerful explosives and I don’t think it would be this damaged if the fire was accidental.”_

 _“Damn it, should we go to the house to examine as well?”_ Kinta suggested.

 _“I don’t think it will be a nice idea,”_ Kyuu said. _“It seems the criminal wanted to kill Jo, so if we go there with Jo, I think the criminal will want to try and kill him again.”_

Ryuu was amused with the nickname Kyuu created for his friend. He smiled a little and gave a response to Kyuu's reasoning, _“I agree with Kyuu.”_ Ryuu then looked at Kinta and then at Joseph, _“We should go to the ‘lab’ first and directly go to your place, Joseph.”_

 _“Okay, that sounds like a plan for me,”_ Joseph agreed.

* * *

They got out from the black range rover and were greeted with the chill of the woods and the warmth of the morning sun. It was quite a refreshment after the long half day flight and another 1.5 hours on the road.

 _“Ahh, it’s so fresh here!”_ Kyuu stood to face the rising sun, stretched both arms high and inhaled a lungful breath.

Joseph locked his car with a beep and stood beside Kyuu, _“Yeah, I know right. I’m always excited to spend time here with my dad. Can’t believe I’m never going here with him again.”_ Kyuu looked at him with quite a serious look as Joseph sighed deeply. But after a few moments, he smiled, _“Okay, let’s go find his will,”_ Joseph left Kyuu and went to the small house.

It would not count as a small house in Japan, Kyuu decided. He was the last to step in and he found quite a spacious living room/dining room/kitchen with a fireplace on the left and book racks at both its sides. At the back, there were two doors side by side. He opened the left one and found quite a spacious bedroom with a queen size bed in the middle. It has a single pull out bed on one side and drawers on the other. There was a small study at the end of the bedroom and also an enormous window. It was currently closed by the curtain, but the sunshine pierced through it, giving sufficient light to the room even without any lights on.

“This is really nice. The bathroom has a modern design as well. I would want to live here.” Kyuu turned towards the voice and found Kinta at the door. “Yeah, me too!” Kyuu giggled enthusiastically.

They went out of the room and Kyuu found Ryuu at one of the book racks beside the fireplace. “What did you find?” He stood beside Ryuu. “I haven’t found anything, but this rack bothers me a bit,” he touched his chin while scanning the book spines.

It was a very neat rack. Four rows consisted of 22 thin books each. The hard covered books were broken white colored, except six which had blue covers. Ryuu took out one book nearest to him and flipped the pages. I was all handwritten. He opened the first page. It was also filled with a handwriting.

CORAL BELLS  
( _Heuchera americana_ )  
0807102087

There was another smaller writing, 'Sg', at the bottom of the page.

 _“They were, you can say, medical records for the plants,”_ Joseph said behind them. _“And what is this?”_ Ryuu pointed out the word ‘Sg’ at the bottom of the page. Joseph narrowed his eyes, _“Hmm... I don’t know about that one.”_

Kinta, who was now standing beside Kyuu, took another book and opened the first page, _“It’s here too, only it is Cu instead of Sg.”_

Kyuu took a blue covered book and opened the first page, _“This one is N.”_

Ryuu looked up to the book rack again, _“Let’s try the blue covered books first, maybe it’s a code.”_

They nodded and pulled out the other five blue covered books. They gathered at the table in the middle of the room and opened all the first pages. _“Sb, N, Mc, P, As, Bi..."_ Kyuu murmured. _“We can’t even make a word or something!”_

Joseph drew his brows together, _“They’re familiar to me, but what is it?”_ His voice was a bit irritated.

 _“Wait,”_ Megu suddenly said, _“I saw these before.”_

When four other heads looked towards her, Megu closed her eyes and concentrated.

Sb, N, Mc, P, As, Bi.

No, the order was supposed to be... N, P, As, Sb, Bi, Mc.

N-7-Nitrogen. P-15-Phosphorus. As-33-Arsenic. Sb-51-Antimony. Bi-83-Bismuth. Mc-115-Moscovium.

They’re the fourth row from the right of the...

 _“Periodic table!”_ Megu opened her eyes. _“They’re from the periodic table of the elements in chemistry. They are the fourth row from the right. The order should be N, P, As, Sb, Bi, Mc.”_

Joseph’s eyes went wide, _“You’re right! How can I forget that, even though I’m the chemist here!”_

 _“It’s okay, Joseph,”_ Ryuu said calmly, _“Megu, can you extract other information from it?”_

Megu closed her eyes again. _“N is for Nitrogen, it’s the seventh element. P is for Phosphorus, it’s the fifteenth element. As is for Arsenic, it’s the thirty-third element.”_

 _“Stop there,”_ Ryuu interrupted. _“It’s the numbers, isn't it?”_ Kyuu asked. Ryuu looked at Kyuu and nodded, _“Yes, we may find something if we order the books in the rack.”_

 _“Okay,”_ Megu answered, _“We can pull the books out and order them one by one when we put it in again.”_

Kinta grinned, _“Leave it to me. I love putting things in order!”_

“Really? Since when?” Kyuu spontaneously barked in Japanese. Kinta hit the black haired boy in the head, “Hey, I’m actually an organized person, you know!”

“But you don’t have to hit me that hard!” Kyuu protested.

Joseph watched the scene in amazement and he blinked a few times. Ryuu noticed and said, _“They’ll do fine. Don’t worry.”_ He followed his friends towards the rack.

After a while, Joseph shook himself out of the trance and walked to them. He saw Kinta take a book from the floor and tell the element abbreviation, then Megu replied with the element number and Kinta put the book in the appropriate row. _“I’m amazed how she can memorize the periodic table down to the tiniest detail,”_ Joseph said. Kyuu giggled as he answered, _“Megu has the photographic memory. She can’t forget what she saw.”_

Joseph's mouth formed the word ‘wow’ even though no voice was coming out.

Soon enough, the rack was almost full and when Kinta squeezed the last book and completed the rack, the rack moved a little. Kinta and Megu, who were standing the closest, startled at the sudden movement. Kinta was quick to regain his composure and he peeked behind the rack, _“There’s something behind the rack here.”_

He moved the rack slowly and Joseph gawked, “I never succeeded moving the rack, even a bit!”

Ryuu noticed the automated bolt lock at the top at the back of the rack, _“I think your dad locked the rack in place and set out the automation once the books are ordered.”_

Joseph lowered his head and laughed bitterly, _“I couldn’t believe he actually did that. What is he, really?”_

Ryuu looked at his friend with deep excitement, _“We’re going to find that out.”_ He did not realize another pair of brown eyes stared at him with the same excitement.

 _“There’s a small storage here,”_ Kinta pointed to the small square hole on the wall. Megu got closer, _“There were two photos in frame and oh, this is an edelweiss flower.”_ She took a frame in hand and everyone else got closer to take a look. _“That man looks like you, Jo,”_ Kyuu chuckled. _“No kidding,”_ Kinta commented. The man in frame was probably in his early twenties. It was a black and white portrait photograph and the man looked dignified in the elegant old fashioned suit.

Megu turned the frame and they saw a handwriting at the bottom of the frame. _Stephen Wade_. Upon reading the name, Megu narrowed her eyes. _“This name... I think I’ve read it before,”_ she murmured.

Kinta took the other frame and showed it to them. It was also a black and white photograph, but it has three people in it. In the middle was the same man from the previous photograph, just a little older. There were two other people with him this time, a woman and another man in their early twenties. _“That’s dad!”_ Joseph exclaimed. He pointed his finger at the younger man on the right side of the photograph, _“It’s my dad, Melvin Rios.”_ Kinta turned the frame but there was nothing there.

 _“Ah, I remember!”_ Megu suddenly said, _“Stephen Wade. He won a Nobel Prize about thirty years ago.”_

 _“What?”_ Joseph asked with a rather high tone.

 _“I read about it in an old library a long time ago. I did not read the whole article, but I believe he won a prize in medicine,”_ Megu closed her eyes to concentrate but at last she said, _“That’s the only thing I read, I’m sorry.”_ Her voice was rather frustrated.

 _“It’s more than enough Megu. Please contact Kazuma to search more about him,”_ Ryuu’s calm voice soothed the heightened tension. Megu nodded and fetched her phone to text Kazuma.

Ryuu turned to look at Joseph, _“Joseph, I know it’s quite hard for you to swallow, but we’ll go through this together, okay?”_

Joseph breathed a few times before answering, _“Yeah, I can’t believe it man, but I also want to know the truth.”_ He looked at the whole Q Class, _“Thanks guys, really I couldn’t have figured out much without you.”_

After setting the rack back to place and scrambling the books as Ryuu suggested, they went to grab lunch at a nearby restaurant before heading back to New York.

Kyuu, Kinta, and even Megu had slept at the back of the car. _“Look at them,”_ Joseph said to the half conscious Ryuu after looking at the rear-view mirror, _“Nobody’s gonna believe they’re detectives.”_

 _“Yeah,”_ Ryuu let a small laugh, _“and that’s what made them so powerful.”_

Ryuu wanted to continue the chat but before he could say anything Joseph said, _“You don’t sleep? It was supposed to be past midnight in Japan already.”_

Ryuu answered him with a question instead, _“Aren’t you sleepy?”_

Joseph chuckled, _“Me? No, my body is adjusted to bear different time zones already. I would rather bear it ‘til night, but you should really sleep. It will be an hour of good nap.”_

Ryuu was anxious about leaving the whole Q Class to sleep, Joseph was still quite a stranger even though he worked with him a few times. He looked at Joseph from the rear-view mirror and after he saw the serious and honest greyish-blue eyes, he decided that he would try to have faith in the brunette. After all, they already flew to New York and went to the small house safely.

 _“Okay,”_ Ryuu said before dozing to sleep.

Joseph ran through another speed bump and Kyuu woke up at the gentle shake. They were definitely at the heart of the big apple. Kyuu, who sat behind Joseph, turned his head aside to watch keenly as they went through buildings and skyscrapers. _“Hey, you’re awake?”_ Joseph’s voice was incredibly soft. Kyuu got his intention not to wake the others, _“Yeah, this is amazing!”_ He tried to whisper and then he turned to look at the front of the car.

He was rewarded with a reflection of sleeping Ryuu on the front glass. His delicate sleeping face was serene and it shone in the afternoon light. There was suddenly too much saliva in Kyuu’s mouth and he had to swallow hard.

Joseph pulled over in front of a building with Victorian era design. _“We’re here, guys,”_ Joseph said with a louder voice. Kinta jolted and shook his head. Megu blinked a few times to consciousness. Ryuu did not budge and Kyuu leaned forward. He shook Ryuu’s arm gently and in a low soft voice he said, “Ryuu, wake up.” Ryuu felt the warm soft grip on his arm and opened his eyes a little. It’s Kyuu’s hand, that means they had possibly arrived at the destination. Kyuu let go of his hand when Ryuu moved to unbuckle his seat belt.

The hotel looked quite antique on the outside, so Kyuu was surprised to find a dark sleek modern lobby. “This is a really cool place,” Kinta commented. “I am amazed as well. This lobby has a very different design from the outside. It’s kinda dark but somehow it’s very homey,” Megu elaborated. _“Okay, let’s go, guys,”_ Joseph came back from the reception with a card in his hand. He led them towards the elevator and pushed the button to the top floor.

When the elevator opened, Kyuu’s and Kinta’s jaws dropped. The sunken circular living room with beige cushions on the left side was where they ran to. “This is awesome!” Kyuu’s laughter brightened the whole suite. Megu was more interested in the small kitchen on the right side. It has a minimalist kitchen bar that was enough for six people. And while there was only a microwave to cook, there was quite a large selection of liquor on the wall mounted rack. It was designed beautifully with the hanging wine glasses underneath.

 _“I ordered dinner and it should be here in about thirty minutes, so choose your rooms and get clean,”_ Joseph announced. _“Okay!”_ Kyuu hurried to see the rooms on the hallway. There were three rooms with the same size. Two rooms on the right side of the hallway each had a queen sized bed, while the room on the left had two twin beds. All the rooms had a fancy bathroom, complete with a shower and a bathtub. It was as if those three rooms were complete hotel rooms instead of a part of one suite.

They all stood on the hallway after looking inside the three rooms. “I’ll take this room,” Megu pointed to the room nearest to the kitchen on the right side.

Joseph walked to them and said, _“Hey Ryuu, can I share the room with you?”_

Ryuu smiled, but then his face became serious and he spoke, _“I would really like to, but I think after processing the whole situation, it’s best if you share the room with Kinta.”_

Kinta gaped, _“What? Me?”_

 _“Yes,”_ Ryuu answered firmly, _“I’ll explain later in dinner, okay?”_

Kinta slumped a little but he knew Ryuu must have a reason for it, _“Okay, that means we’re going to take the twin beds, Jo.”_

Joseph looked quite confused but then he nodded before going inside the mentioned room.

“That means we’ll sleep here,” Ryuu smiled at Kyuu and went inside the room. Kyuu knew he was deeply blushing from the idea of sleeping together with Ryuu in a queen sized bed, and he did not mind at all.

Half an hour later, they were eating Mexican dinner at the kitchen bar. _“This is really good!”_ Kyuu took his third ground beef quesadilla. _“This is my first time having Mexican dinner, I like it so much,”_ Megu ate her veggie nacho. Kinta swallowed his quesadilla and yawned, _“Yeah, but I’m still so sleepy.”_

 _“It’s very normal to have a jetlag. You guys are up for almost 24 hours,”_ Joseph chuckled. _“But you don’t seem sleepy,”_ Megu commented. Joseph took another nacho, _“Yeah, I’m used by the time zones differences now. And I’m a New Yorker from the start so it will affect you guys more.”_

 _“By the way, Joseph, I was wondering about this suite,”_ Ryuu changed the topic. _“Oh right,”_ Joseph gestured at the hallway, _“Those rooms were supposed to be three suite rooms. But I bought this part of the hotel and yeah, made it one of my guest houses.”_

Kyuu’s eyes beamed in amazement, _“Yeah, this place rocks for a hangout!”_

 _“Sure is! When my friends come from other towns or countries, or even just want to have some fun, we usually stay here. It’s one of the best places that I own,”_ Joseph opened his beer can. He took another can and offered it. Kyuu watched closely when Megu politely lowered her head and Kinta raised his palm saying, _“No for me.”_ And he was taken aback when his violet blue haired friend took the beer can from the brunette.

Ryuu casually opened the beer can and took a sip of the alcohol, and Kyuu could not stop staring at his friend’s bouncing Adam’s apple. Ryuu obviously noticed it, because consequently he offered the can to Kyuu, “You want some?” Kyuu shook his head hesitantly but his gleaming eyes could not lie. Ryuu let a small laugh, “A sip won’t hurt you, Kyuu.” And that encouragement was more than enough for Kyuu. He took the can and in the end, drank it till the last drop.

It was a full hour of hearty dinner and afterwards, Kyuu found himself stuffed and tipsy and so ready to sleep. His head and eyes were so heavy that he blurrily remembered pale soft hands that tucked him into bed.


	3. The Attempt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Case. Someone tried to kill the client.  
> Characters. Kyuu and Ryuu talked about their feelings towards the case and towards being a detective.

Kyuu’s eyes cracked open. He was shivering from the low temperature and he had a bowel movement. He panicked and rushed to the bathroom, failing to notice the absence of his roommate on the bed or even the spraying sound from inside the bathroom. Kyuu opened the bathroom door brusquely.

From behind the transparent glass of the shower room, black eyes of a half soaked violet blue haired man turned his way. The movement from looking at the bathroom door created the perfect angle for Kyuu to witness a delicate lean body and the steam did not help much in covering the intimate part.

Kyuu was bright red and his heart thumped loudly. “Sorry!” He shut the door close and leaned his body to it, trying to calm his heavy breathing.

The sound of the water stopped. “Kyuu, it’s totally fine if you want to use the toilet. It’s not good holding it up.”

Kyuu had forgotten about his nature call, but Ryuu’s words raised the need again. “No, I’ll be fine, really,” he forced a laugh.

“I will look the other way around if it bothers you,” Ryuu said.

Now the picture of a naked Ryuu flashed back into Kyuu’s brain. He squeezed his head with both hands, “That’s not it!” Kyuu would have to make an excuse, “I-It will stink!”

Ryuu’s chuckle sent chills to Kyuu’s groin, “Well, if it doesn’t stink, then there’s a problem with you.”

Kyuu could not think of a counterargument. Defeated, he stood tall in front of the door, “Okay, I’m going in.”

True, Ryuu was facing the other way, but that way Kyuu was exposed with-

Kyuu shook his head, grabbed a towel nearby and sat at the toilet. He felt great being able to empty his bowel and he closed his eyes. Moments later, the water stopped spraying and there were sounds of Ryuu grabbing a towel. Kyuu lowered his head and waited until the bathroom door was closed before opening his eyes again. He released a relieved sigh.

Kyuu got out of the bathroom and found Ryuu drying his hair on the edge of the bed. Ryuu already wore his sweatpants but was still topless. The wall mounted bed light gave warm light to the room and Kyuu was glad it was dim enough so Ryuu would not have to see his pink cheeks.

Kyuu sat beside the taller man and asked, “What are you doing, taking a bath this early?”

“I woke up about half an hour ago and I can’t sleep anymore, so I thought I would take a bath and freshen myself up,” Ryuu answered honestly. “Is it weird?”

“Quite so.” They both laughed. Then, Ryuu stood up to take a long sleeve shirt and put it on before sitting beside Kyuu again.

After some moments, Kyuu broke the silence, “Hey Ryuu, what do you think about this case?”

Ryuu leaned forward, “I think the mystery lies deeper and honestly we’re still far from it.”

“Yeah, I think so too,” Kyuu nodded. “Actually, I never thought we’d run into big cases again after we defeated Meiosei. But as time went by, we ran into more and more cases and now we’re in New York doing a real case. I’m really excited!” His enthusiastic voice brightened the dim room.

“Me too,” Ryuu answered. “I remembered the first time I was involved in solving a case, it was when I was here in New York. I stumbled upon a crime scene and noticed something was off. I told the officer but he hesitated at first. Turned out, it led to solid evidence to capture the culprit.”

Kyuu’s face was full of fascination. Ryuu continued, “After that, the officer asked my opinion for some cases, and I met Joseph in the last one. Joseph was the one who solved the murder weapon, a customized drug, and therefore they could catch the culprit. After that, Joseph invited me to look around his company. But before that happened, I flew to Japan to participate in the last entrance exam for DDS.”

“That’s so cool, you worked real cases even before you went to DDS!” Kyuu said, “I never got into a real case before getting into DDS. I watched and deduced mysteries from the TV. Oh, I was involved in a case where I was kidnapped, but I was the one kidnapped, not the one who solved it.”

“There were other small cases like when I first met Megu. A man accused me of stealing his money. I solved that one, the money slipped into his umbrella!” Kyuu chuckled. “Yeah, I really do like solving cases on site. I hope we can have more cases like this.”

Ryuu knew Kyuu always loved mysteries, but he was interested whether Kyuu realized the consequences of choosing the path of working in the frontline. He wanted to ask Kyuu-

when they heard a loud thud.

Both the young men stood and faced each other. They simultaneously nodded and ran to the source of the sound, Joseph’s and Kinta’s room.

They barged inside the room and Ryuu turned the lights on. Beside the bed near the bathroom door, Joseph gripped a hand and his knee slammed the back of the body, effectively pinning the person in the burglar mask. Kinta was sitting on the other bed, shocked with the terrifying scene.

Megu came behind Kyuu and gasped in horror. Kyuu immediately turned and blocked Megu’s sight, “Megu, call the police now!” The firm voice brought Megu to vigilance. She nodded and ran back to her room for the phone.

 _“Who are you?”_ Joseph tightened his grip. _“Who sent you?”_ He altered the question.

_*italic dialogues are in English_

They could still see the culprit’s eyes and mouth from the side. They saw gritted teeth before foam came out and the body weakened. _“Hey!”_ Joseph shook the languid body. Kinta had regained composure and was now looking at the subject in question, _“No use, it’s probably carfentanil.”_ Joseph looked at Kinta and then to the probably dead body by then. He did not feel the pulse on the wrist he was gripping, so he put it down and stood up.

 _“The police will be here in 10 minutes,”_ Megu came back to the room. Her eyes widened and she covered her mouth upon seeing the unmoving body beside Joseph, _“Is he...”_

 _“Yes,”_ Ryuu lowered his head before looking at all the people seriously, _“We should go to the living room and wait for the police there.”_

They went to the living room in silence, not touching anything along the way. After they all sat down at the circular sofa, Joseph pulled his contact lens and the skin on his face, revealing a slitted black eyed Kinta. Kinta also did the same, revealing a pale blue eyed brunette.

Kyuu gaped and pointed a finger towards Kinta and Joseph, _“What! So you were..."_

 _“Yeah,”_ Ryuu answered, _“The probability of this happening is not zero, so I asked them to switch last night. That’s why I need them to sleep in one room. Kinta’s body is more similar to Joseph's.”_

Joseph lowered his head, _“I’m so grateful. I don’t know what would have happened if we didn’t switch.”_ He covered his face with both his hands. He felt a pat on his shoulder, _“It’s okay man, we got your back,”_ Kinta said softly but firmly. There was a faint smile when Joseph nodded.

Suddenly, the lift opened and two men in uniform came out, both armed with guns. The arrival was much faster than they anticipated, and the detectives got into a defense stance.

 _“Hey, are you guys alright?”_ The taller officer glanced at them while gesturing to the other to check the hallway. Ryuu nodded, _“Our attacker is in the room on the left. He probably killed himself.”_

 _“Clear!”_ The other officer lowered his gun after checking all the rooms, _“He’s right. The perp is in that room.”_ The officer near them also lowered his gun and walked towards the mentioned room. He then picked up the radio on his right shoulder, _“Report. Suspect down, probably suicide. Five hostages are safe.” “Copy,”_ came a cracking sound from the radio.

The blond man with brown eyes looked gigantic compared to his blond partner in blue eyes. The taller officer was probably 6.2 feet tall, or about 190 centimeters. _“You guys did the right thing. Let’s wait for the other cops to arrive. I thought you were lucky because Doug and I were in the area, but it seems everything’s fine even before we arrived. I’m Benjamin Brooks. Call me Ben,”_ he offered his hand to Kinta, who stood in front of them all.

 _“That explains your quick arrival,”_ Kinta shook his hand, _“Kinta.”_

 _“Kinta?”_ The officer raised an eyebrow, _“You’re not from here, are you?”_

 _“They’re with me,”_ Joseph walked past them to stand beside Kinta. _“They just arrived from Japan yesterday.”_

Ben’s wide eyes proved his recognition towards the brunette. _“Joseph Rios! Oh my, it’s really nice to meet you.”_ He shook Joseph’s hands eagerly. The other officer cleared his throat and Ben suddenly regained his composure, _“Erm, I mean this is not the best situation to know you, but I’m really glad to have met you. I heard about you helping us out a lot from my seniors.”_

The lift opened again and both police officers raised their guard. There were four officers coming out from the lift and they all lowered their guns after recognizing each other.

After that, things went at lightning speed. Officers went into the rooms and checked the whole suite. Two coroners went into the room and out with the body on a stretcher. Officers gave them blankets and teas.

Within the chaos, Ben came to them and said, _“How are you guys feeling? I’m sorry to say this but the whole suite is now a crime scene. Do you guys have any other place to stay?”_

 _“I still have some hotels and apartments we could sleep in,”_ Joseph’s voice was a bit shaken when he answered. _“I think that is out of choice,”_ Ryuu countered. _“If someone succeeded to snuck in here, that means they already knew your whereabouts. Maybe even all properties that you own. We should move somewhere which has no relation with you.”_

 _“That’s true,”_ Megu nervously agreed. _“Hey,”_ Kinta said suddenly, _“I think we can stay in the police HQ, you have some vacant rooms, don’t you?”_

Ben blinked at the suggestion, _“How do you know that?”_

Kinta grinned at the response, _“I stayed there a couple of times before. In fact, my dad always made us stay there every time we went here.”_

 _“Your dad?”_ Ben narrowed his eyes and inspected Kinta, _“Wait! You’re the son of Kin... Kinza...ro... Toyama?”_

 _“It’s... Kinzaburou Touyama,”_ Kinta twitched a little when he corrected the native officer, _“But yes, I’m Kintarou Touyama.”_ His grin was back in place. Ben’s face came to life as well, _“Yes of course, you can live in the police HQ as long as you need. Let’s go then!”_

 _“Um, Ben,”_ Ryuu interrupted, _“I know we have to move fast, but can you let us gather evidence from here first?”_ He showed his DDS pocket book before Ben had the chance to ask.

 _“DDS?”_ Ben read the carved letters and touched his chin. _“DDS... Where did I... Oh, you guys came from Japan, right? That means, DD-”_ He looked at them with a whole new respect, _“You’re from Dan Detective School. I don’t think there will be a problem if you want to gather evidence! I’ll inform the others right away.”_ Ben moved away to the other officers.

“That’s cool. DDS is really famous everywhere,” Kyuu whispered to his detective friends.

“I think that’s because Dan-sensei himself helped the US police once. I heard stories of it when I was here. I gambled when I was showing the pocket book,” Ryuu chuckled.

* * *

Half an hour later, the faces of our detectives did not look any better. “The evidence is everywhere but none is helpful.”

“Yeah,” Ryuu agreed. “The culprit did not hide anything from us, but yet we are clueless about the _real_ culprit, the mastermind.”

“The only thing that isn’t right is the card,” Kyuu said.

“Yes,” Megu replied, “The receptionist told me that no one else has the card except us.”

“So, the culprit is a genius programmer that can control the lift?” Kinta suggested.

“That, or it was someone with power that has easy access to everything,” Ryuu said.

 _“Okay, detectives, time’s up. Let’s move you guys to a safer place,”_ Ben said to them. Joseph was already in front of the lift, waiting for them. Reluctantly, they took their belongings and walked towards the lift.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **References**  
>  Chapter 1 / Episode 1 for Kyuu's first case with Megu.  
> Chapter 113 for snippets of Kyuu's being kidnapped case.


	4. The Scattered Clues

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Case. They were gathering clues and forming assumptions.  
> Characters. Megu voiced out her concerns and Kyuu reassured her. Kyuu then had a talk about it with Ryuu.

After putting their belongings in their respective rooms, they gathered in Joseph and Kinta’s room in the police headquarters. Their twin rooms were side by side. Megu’s was nearest to the lift, Kyuu and Ryuu’s was next, and Joseph and Kinta's was the furthest from the lift. There was no such thing as a living room on the floor but there were dispensers at the hall.

Ryuu was going to initiate the conversation when Kinta’s phone rang. “Oh, it’s from Kazuma,” he said before picking up the phone and turned on the loudspeaker mode.

 _“Guys, this is becoming very big!”_ Kazuma’s voice was loud enough to be heard by everyone in the room.

_*italic dialogues are in English_

_“What do you get, kiddo?”_ Kinta said.

They could hear Kazuma’s breath before he explained, _“Okay, so Stephen Wade won a Nobel Prize about 30 years ago. But not long after that, he disappeared. No data or whatsoever on the internet. I had to use my connection to dig him up.”_

 _“But I saw his name not more than ten years ago,”_ Megu interrupted.

 _“Yes, it was far more difficult to erase his offline existence. Probably the library where you saw it was a really old one,”_ Kazuma answered.

 _“Oh, that’s true. I was looking into old documents at that time,”_ Megu nodded.

Kazuma continued his explanation, _“From what I know, people who disappeared mysteriously like this are probably hired to be a secret agent or spies like that. I guess that happened to Stephen Wade too.”_

Kyuu was still holding his chin when he asked, _“Does he- Did he have family?”_

 _“Hmm,”_ Kazuma sounded like he was thinking. _“Sadly I haven’t got much data about his family. Well, he’s an only child and he won the prize when he was 25. So he is probably in his 50s now.”_

 _“Okay,”_ Kyuu sighed.

 _“Did you search what I asked, Kazuma?”_ Ryuu asked.

 _“Yes,”_ there were several clicking sounds before Kazuma continued, _“Melvin Rios, a quite well-known farmer. Data about him was everywhere on the internet. But when I searched about Stephen Wade, I found a photo of him with Melvin Rios. Only he was known as Dimitri Wells, not Melvin Rios.”_

 _“Dimitri Wells?”_ Joseph murmured.

 _“So I searched more about Dimitri Wells. He was a programmer and he did several projects together with Stephen Wade. They worked for a company called Ilios,”_ Kazuma explained. _“But similar to Stephen Wade, data about Dimitri Wells became fewer after Stephen Wade ‘disappeared’. That’s all I got.”_

 _“Ilios is it?”_ Ryuu crossed his hands. _“In Greek, ilios is the sun.”_

Ryuu turned to see Joseph, _“Joseph, do you have any idea about this?”_

Joseph shrugged, _“No, I always knew my dad as a farmer. He was always in his garden. He was quite good at biology and chemistry though. I learned about chemistry from him.”_ He paused before adding, _“Well, I did wonder why he had the big PC with two big screens at home. But I thought that was normal, so I didn’t ask.”_

Kazuma asked from the phone, _“Do you still have the PC or it was-”_

 _“It was destroyed along with the house,”_ Joseph answered before Kazuma finished.

 _“That’s too bad, but I’ll try to look up more to this,”_ Kazuma answered.

 _“Thanks, Kazuma. Please let us know if you get any leads,”_ Ryuu said.

 _“Sure,”_ Kazuma said before Kinta’s phone beeped.

Just as the call ended, there was a knock on the door and soon after Officer Benjamin came in. _“Hey guys, I hope the rooms are okay. It’s nothing compared to Joseph’s though,”_ he smiled.

 _“No, this is great. Thank you, Ben,”_ Joseph answered.

 _“Ben, can I ask you something?”_ Ryuu walked closer to Ben. _“We need to look out for a company called Ilios. You think you have the access to it?”_

 _“Ilios..."_ Ben scratched his head. _“Never heard of it. But we can search about it on the third floor.”_

So they all went to the third floor. Ben led them to a room full of cabinets and computers. He walked to the only person in the room. _“Hey, can you look for a company called Ilios in our database?”_ He asked the officer. After a few minutes of clicking and typing, the other officer said, _“Nothing. I searched through our old data too but there are no companies with that name.”_

Ben lowered his head and looked at the young detectives, _“Sorry, guys.”_

Kinta suddenly jolted by the ring and vibration of his phone. They all turned to look at Kinta while he took out his phone, accepted the call and turned on the loudspeaker. _“Guys! I found something big!”_ There was a very young voice from the other side of the phone.

 _“Who’s that?”_ Ben asked curiously.

 _“That’s Kazuma. He’s our classmate too, but due to some circumstances he couldn’t come here to New York,”_ Ryuu explained briefly.

 _“And... Who’s that?”_ Kazuma asked.

 _“Oh, that’s Ben. He’s a police officer,”_ Megu answered.

 _“Oh okay, now to business,”_ Kazuma said. _“There are two things. First, Ilios was a research company until 25 years ago and I found out that they are now a part of some global secret agency specializing in research. The building which they operated is now occupied by a normal publishing company. But, I think Ilios is still operating there.”_

Ben and the other officer were stunned by the revelation. _“How did you manage to find that out? And I’m guessing by your voice you’re still a kid,”_ the other officer commented.

Kyuu chuckled, _“Yeah, Kazuma is still... eleven?”_

 _“Hey, I’m twelve already!”_ Kazuma exclaimed. _“No way,”_ Ben gasped.

 _“I also get a lot of help from DDS,”_ Kazuma said. _“So next. I also dug up Melvin Rios’ email. Granting the permission from the email provider, I find an email which is addressed to his old identity, Dimitri Wells. The email is in codes, but of course I cracked it.”_

 _“Just spill it out, kid,”_ Kinta was getting impatient.

Kazuma started his explanation, _“So, it turns out the email is from Ilios. They said there's a man in Ilios who is severely ill and they asked Joseph’s father for help.”_

 _“Help?”_ Ryuu asked. _“What kind of help?”_

 _“I don’t know actually,”_ Kazuma admitted. _“They just said help.”_

 _“When was the email received?”_ Ryuu asked.

 _“Now that’s interesting indeed,”_ Kazuma answered. _“The email was received hours before Joseph’s house was burnt.”_

Ryuu pondered on the information and asked, _“Do you have any other information?”_

 _“Yes,”_ Kazuma answered confidently. _“I talked to Maki-sensei and it turns out he met Stephen Wade once.”_

 _“What?”_ Kinta exclaimed.

 _“Maki-sensei was a fan of Stephen Wade and he made a trip to New York when he was still so young just to meet him. He told me that Stephen Wade was very intrigued with clones,”_ Kazuma said seriously.

 _“Clown?”_ Kyuu asked.

 _“Clone, not clown, Kyuu,”_ Kazuma sighed. _“Cloning is when we ‘duplicate’ living things. It was a hot topic back then, according to Maki-sensei. He also told me that Wade’s research in clones was actually triggered by his own condition. It looks like Stephen Wade has a unique blood that he can’t receive blood from many people.”_

They were silent for a moment, so Kazuma continued, _“Actually, Maki-sensei had a hunch that the person who is ill is probably Stephen Wade. But we haven’t got any proof for that. I’m currently trying to get Stephen Wade’s DNA.”_

Ryuu looked at Joseph to see his reaction. As expected, Joseph was shocked and pale. Ryuu then walked to Kinta and asked for the phone. Kinta gave the phone to Ryuu and Ryuu turned off the loudspeaker and said, _“Thanks Kazuma,_ now I want you to do something.” Ryuu went outside the room while speaking to Kazuma in Japanese.

They were still silent when Ryuu got back. _“Let’s head back to our room. We got what we came here for,”_ Ryuu said calmly and held the door open for them. They followed the instruction immediately. _“Thanks, Ben,”_ Ryuu said before closing the door.

Joseph had gone to his room while the detectives stood in front of it. “I’ll talk to him,” Ryuu said. Kyuu nodded and saw Ryuu walking inside the room.

They all knew it was hard on Joseph. Megu and Kinta both lowered their faces, but Kyuu still had an unsettling one. He gestured to Megu and Kinta to get inside his room. When they were all in, Kinta said, “Damn, this is unbelievable. Is it really possible that he’s a clone?”

“Yeah, it must be hard for him,” Megu was still looking down.

“We don’t know that yet. But something is definitely still off,” Kyuu said seriously.

Megu and Kinta simultaneously looked at him. “What is it?” Kinta asked.

Kyuu let out a sigh, “If the email is private and written in codes, why did the culprit know?”

Megu and Kinta gasped.

“Unless,” Kyuu touched his chin, “the culprit was also from Ilios. And maybe he just learned about Dimitri Wells’ information after Ilios sent him an email.”

“You’re right!” Kinta agreed. “So how should we do this?”

Kyuu scratched his head, “I don’t know... But what Ryuu did is right. We’ll have to see when we get there.”

“When we get there?” Megu covered her mouth with a hand.

“Yeah, I think that’s what Ryuu had in mind,” Kyuu answered. “Or... that’s what I had in mind.”

“You’re not wrong,” Ryuu closed the door and got closer to them. “I told Joseph that we’re going there tomorrow. We’ll have to inform Ben as well after this.”

Kyuu’s eyes sparkled as he exclaimed, “Okay. I’ll go with you to talk with Ben!”

“I better prepare myself and protect Joseph, then,” Kinta stood up. Ryuu nodded.

Kinta went back to his room. Ryuu and Kyuu were heading to the lift, but Megu stayed. Kyuu turned to see her, “Megu? You’re not coming?”

Megu shook her head, “I think... I want to rest.”

“Oh, you right, I am a bit sleepy as well. I’ll also sleep after we talk to Ben. Have a nice rest, Megu!” Kyuu waved and ran to the lift.

* * *

After dinner, Kyuu went outside his room to refill his drink. “Hey, Megu!” he said with a happy tone. Megu had just finished refilling her drink, “Oh hey, Kyuu.” She stood up and moved a bit so Kyuu could refill his drink.

“Kyuu, what do you think of tomorrow?” Megu’s voice was rather shaky. “I’m kinda scared,” she admitted.

“Don’t worry,” Kyuu finished refilling his drink. He stood and a wide smile was on his face, “Of course it will be dangerous, but we’re also getting closer to the truth!”

Megu still had an anxious face. She knew it was their job to uncover mysteries, but she was still scared. All the more in the foreign country. Their experiences were still inadequate to handle such a big case, in her opinion, but it’s also true that they had each other to lean on. “You are right,” Megu lowered her face, “It’s just that, sometimes when we are going to face some kind of danger, I am scared that something will happen to us. And I can’t even begin to imagine-”

Kyuu’s hand on her arms shocked her. She raised her head to see Kyuu’s smile.

“I know it’s scary and I have to admit that yes, it is very dangerous. But we’re together, right? There’s Kinta and even the officers will back us up. Don’t worry Megu, we’ll be fine.” And after a short pause, he added, “If anything, _I_ will protect you.”

Megu smiled and nodded, “If I’m that scared, I will never be a real detective.”

“You are, Megu, you are!” Kyuu chuckled, “Please get some rest, we'll need a lot of energy tomorrow!”

Kyuu then took his drink from above the dispenser and they walked towards their room. Megu looked at Kyuu before getting inside her own room and lowered her face. “But if you protect me and something happens to you... it’s the worst that I can imagine,” a tear found its way to her cheek.

Her phone suddenly vibrated and she took it from her pocket. It was a message from Kazuma. _Hey Megu, I know maybe it’s not the place for me to say this but, even though tomorrow will be quite a confrontation, I wish you guys catch them and come back here safely._

Megu wiped her tears and smiled.

*

Ryuu was looking beyond the window of their room. It was a busy night at the center of the city. The lights and sounds somehow soothed Ryuu. He heard the door to their room open and knew exactly who was coming in. He turned his head to greet him.

Kyuu had a smile on his face, but Ryuu knew something was up. He then decided to wait until Kyuu settled on his bed before sitting on his own. “Did something happen?” He asked.

“What? No, no,” Kyuu let out a strained laugh.

Ryuu only closed his eyes and smiled, “You’re really not a good liar, Kyuu.”

Kyuu’s laugh soon disappeared. “Not in front of you, at least,” he answered honestly. Yeah, he did lie minutes before, or rather not telling the whole truth to Megu. In reality, he was also scared of tomorrow. Hearing Megu with the tone, he had to reassure himself that nothing bad would happen. He remembered about the Kamikakushi village case when he went into the dam, or their last battle with Meiosei. He also remembered the time when Megu was bitten by the snake in the underground locked room of their old building school, or the violin master case when Ryuu was stabbed instead of him. It was his worst nightmare and he did not want those things to happen again. But still, his fear was overcomed with his desire to pursue the truth. He wanted to seek the mystery deeper and he felt nothing could stop him from doing it. And he realized he could not show that part of him to Megu. Megu was already scared and she would be worse if he opened himself up.

Kyuu just knew. He saw Megu’s expression countless times before, in his mom. His mom had the same expression when they talked about Otousan since little and when they said goodbye to the late detective on their trips together. Kyuu knew he had to act strong and thank God, Megu believed him then. It was not easy for Kyuu to hold himself from someone he really cared for, but he _held_ himself precisely because he cared for Megu.

Kyuu turned to look at Ryuu, who was intently staring at him. The gaze was piercing but there was also kindness and pure interest. Kyuu guessed Ryuu must have been staring at him while he pondered. His heart skipped a bit by the realization. In front of Ryuu, he always felt so vulnerable yet so true to himself.

Kyuu swallowed hard before finally admitting, “It’s Megu. She is scared of tomorrow.”

Ryuu did not stop his staring when he answered with a question, “Are you?” His voice was soft but firm.

Kyuu lowered his face. “That’s the thing. Rather than scared, I feel excited. You know, to see the end of the mystery, to see the truth emerges,” Kyuu’s voice was enthusiastic but then it softened, “I’m afraid I may hurt her if she knows what I really feel.”

Ryuu finally broke his gaze. He moved his weight to his hands backwards and stared at the ceiling, “I guess so.”

Kyuu quickly grabbed his pillow and hugged it to his chest. He then sat facing Ryuu.

“You know, your mom is a very strong woman,” Ryuu suddenly said.

“My mom?” Kyuu asked.

“Yeah,” Ryuu continued, “She must have known the risk of marrying your dad. Your dad has the same determination as you, always seeking for the truth, and with that came so much risk. But your mom still decided to marry your dad. I believe it was actually hard for her.”

Kyuu was stunned at Ryuu’s opinion. After some time, Kyuu said, “You’re right.” He hugged his pillow tighter and murmured, “I wonder if..." He stopped and shook his head.

Ryuu knew what was in Kyuu’s mind. He then sat straight and turned to see Kyuu, and waited until Kyuu looked back at him. “Well, we never know until she tells you about it. I don’t think it will be an easy talk, but at some point you have to decide. Not just her, but you too, I think..." Ryuu lowered his head after finishing what he had to say.

Ryuu was right, Kyuu thought. He _had_ to do it at some point. Kyuu let out a sigh and looked at his violet blue haired friend. He wondered why it was so easy for him to talk about these kinds of things with Ryuu. About anything, to be exact. He could be himself and Ryuu could also be himself and they would openly talk from heart to heart. Kyuu just hoped he could do the same with Megu when the time comes.

“It will be okay,” Ryuu broke the silence. “Tomorrow, and also the future. We’re in this together, Kyuu.” He smiled genuinely.

Kyuu felt all his anxiety washed away by the sincere smile. “Yeah, we’re in this together, Ryuu,” he returned the smile.

“Okay, let’s go to bed now,” Ryuu stood up to turn the lights off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **References**  
>  Chapter 17-29 / Episode 17-21 for Kamikakushi Village Case  
> Chapter 65-76 / Episode 36-39 for Fantasy Music Hall Case


	5. The Confrontation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Case. They confronted the culprit.  
> Characters. Megu saw another side of her two boy friends and she had difficulties registering what she saw.

It was 8 am when they entered the building and it had been about 30 minutes since they walked inside it. Following Kazuma’s instructions, they had passed around 10 checkpoints and they were now standing in front of the last one. The automatic sliding door opened and they went in quietly.

The circular room was equipped with modern technologies. Kyuu felt as if they were in a spaceship or something. After they were all inside, the sliding door closed behind them.

There were two people inside, a tall man and a well-built woman. The middle aged man had white shoulder length hair and he wore vintage golden frame spectacles. His white coat told them that he was a researcher. On the other hand, the woman who stood behind the man wore a white suit. Her body seemed toned and her gaze was sharp. They could tell in a glance that she was a good fighter.

 _“At last we get to meet you, Joseph!”_ the tall man said, his hands wide. _“Well, I did not expect to have this many people though,”_ he smiled. It was a wide smile but through experiences they knew the smile was not genuine.

_*italic dialogues are in English_

_“Do I know you?”_ Kinta, who dressed as Joseph, asked.

The man laughed. _“I believe you don’t, but you will. I am your father’s friend from a long time ago,”_ he smiled and offered his hand to Kinta. Kinta hesitated but shook the hand in the end.

 _“You have become a fine man,”_ the man said again. _“Thank you for coming here and helping us out. Let’s go then,”_ he gestured to our fellows to follow him to another sliding door.

When the door opened, there was a slightly younger man waiting. His hair was grey and he was also wearing a white coat. Both of his eyes were wide seeing the white haired man. _“I see, so it was you!”_

The white haired man gasped and narrowed his eyes, _“You!”_

The woman swiftly tried to attack the younger man, but suddenly there were police officers holding her.

Helpless, the white haired man did not try to do something foolish nor dangerous, even though his eyes showed flames of anger. Instead he asked, _“But how?”_

 _“There are three hints!”_ Kyuu said.

The white haired man turned to look at our young black haired detective. His eyes were wide with shock.

 _“The first hint. Ilios contacted Melvin Rios to ask for help, but then someone tried to kill him. Next, they also want to kill Joseph. We had to consider the possibility of Ilios behind the attempted murders because the chronology was just too good to be true,”_ Kyuu started explaining.

 _"The second hint was the card,"_ Kyuu said calmly. _"It was a reckless move to use your power to get the access card."_

 _"Yes,"_ Megu continued. _"Our team member traced the card and found out that the access was granted by a secret authority. That broke all other assumptions that we had and led us to Ilios, a secret organization which has incredible access to almost anything."_

 _“But that was not enough. So, we played our game and lure you out with the email,”_ Kyuu continued. _“You received our reply, didn’t you?”_

 _“The one with codes, yes, and I replied,”_ the white haired man said impatiently.

 _“We received and replied as well,”_ the younger man also answered. The white haired shifted his head in shock.

 _“Yes,”_ Kyuu answered. _“One of our team sent the emails privately to many people in Ilios and when we analyzed the replies, we knew that you are the one.”_

 _“But..."_ the white haired man tried to defend himself.

 _“Sir,”_ Ryuu looked at the slightly younger man, _“When you read the email, what do you have in mind?”_

 _“I thought it was a threat, but I’m not sure, so I asked in the reply,”_ he answered.

 _“Yes, that is the right answer,”_ Ryuu nodded. _“In the email we said, 'I’ll be going in my dad’s place. Tell me where I should go.' It was very ambiguous since it was sent from Joseph Rios’ email. Ilios sent the previous email addressed to Dimitri Wells, so they could not have known the relation between him and Joseph Rios. We also use a different code from the email Ilios sent, so from a normal perspective both emails were not relevant at all.”_

Ryuu then looked at the white haired man, _“But you knew. We don’t know how you knew, but you figured out that Melvin Rios is Dimitri Wells. That’s why you burnt his house and even tried to kill Joseph Rios, who is Melvin Rios’ child. And that’s also why you immediately sent us directions to go in without hesitation. That’s the third and final hint!”_

 _“Looks like your own enthusiasm uncovered your own secret,”_ Kinta said with a wide grin.

The white haired man narrowed his eyes, it was obvious that he was raged.

An officer held the white haired man’s wrists and said, _“We’ll talk more later.”_ He led both culprits and went away.

 _“Wow, that’s quick!”_ Ben went into the room and so was the grey haired man. _“As you guys suggested, we went to his office and found syringes of poisons. I bet he was going to shoot you with it.”_

 _“I still can’t believe you guys figure that out. I heard you guys are good detectives, but I didn’t expect you to be this young,”_ the grey haired man said. _“I’m McKinney, Lewis McKinney.”_

 _“That is so true!”_ Ben’s bright laugh filled the circular room.

 _“McKinney... You are Professor McKinney! I read your name,”_ Joseph exclaimed.

 _“Oh, and you are?”_ McKinney asked.

 _“I’m Joseph Rios. Melvin Rios’ son,"_ Joseph offered his hand. McKinney’s scrutinizing gaze made Joseph realize that he was still using Kinta’s face and voice. _“Oh, wait a minute,”_ he said before pulling his face. Kinta, who also realized, also pulled his face.

Seeing McKinney stepped back by the shocking revelation, Ryuu automatically spoke up. _“Sorry for the surprise, we decided they have to switch places, just in case someone wants to hurt Joseph. Kinta’s a great fighter,”_ he explained briefly.

 _“Oh, good grief,”_ McKinney chuckled.

 _“Sorry about that,”_ Joseph said.

 _“No, that’s very reasonable,”_ McKinney smiled. _“I am really glad that you came, Joseph. I heard about the whole mess from Ben, and it is true that Stephen Wade is really sick. He needs the transfusion and we are frustrated to the point we made contact with Dimitri. Actually, we promised not to contact him again years ago, but we had no other choice. We’re truly at loss hearing about his death from Ben,”_ he lowered his head.

Joseph smiled a sad smile, _“Thanks. I have accepted my nature. I’m his clone, right? My blood should be a match for him. I believe this is what my dad wants too.”_

 _“His clone?”_ McKinney shot one of his eyebrows up. _“I think there is a misunderstanding here.”_

Joseph was surprised by the remark. The same goes for Megu and Kinta.

 _“Sorry we hid it from you, Joseph, and in this case to Megu and Kinta as well,”_ Ryuu said suddenly. _“You see, Kazuma, one of our team, found out that Stephen’s research about clones never succeeded.”_

 _“And when I looked around the lab in the woods, I found another picture of your dad and a woman. It’s the same woman in the picture behind the book rack,”_ Kyuu added. _“Do you remember her?”_

Joseph nodded.

 _“She was Claude Isabelle, a chemist whom Stephen Wade worked with,”_ Kyuu said.

 _“I knew Claude Isabelle, she was Stephen Wade’s spouse. But she died a long time ago,”_ McKinney responded.

 _“Yes, sadly,”_ Ryuu lowered his head. _“Kazuma tried to search thoroughly but we only got puzzle pieces. After thoroughly analyzing it, we deduced that Stephen and Claude had a child. But, since Stephen was very busy and engrossed in his career at that time, Claude didn’t tell Stephen. Instead, she told Dimitri about it. Sadly, she died in childbirth. But,”_ Ryuu looked at Joseph, _“You survived.”_

Professor McKinney’s eyes got wide again, as if he just saw the red string. _“That’s true... After Claude's death, Stephen was very frustrated. He was depressed for several months and I thought he had become crazy. We’re so lucky that he did not,”_ McKinney confessed.

 _“Yes, probably after seeing Stephen like that, Dimitri decided to raise the child himself and retreated from the organization,”_ Ryuu concluded.

McKinney nodded slowly, _“Dimitri did resign months after that. I think you guys did a quite accurate deduction.”_

 _“Really?”_ Joseph’s voice was shaky. _“So I am not a clone?”_

 _“No, you are not,”_ Ben’s voice was firm. _“Your DNA results showed that you have half of Stephen’s blood. We checked the other half with one of Claude’s family who is still alive, and it is quite a match.”_

 _“Even if you decide to give your blood to Stephen, the possibility is still 50-50. But it’s the best shot we have right now,”_ McKinney said. _“I don’t want to push you. It’s your decision to try and give him your blood or not.”_

Joseph pondered for a second, then nodded. _“I’ll try. He will die if we don’t, right?”_

McKinney smiled genuinely, _“Thank you so much, Joseph. We’re so glad. Let’s go to the hospital, then.”_

Some officers brought Joseph and McKinney to the hospital, but Ben had told our detectives not to follow. So they only escorted Joseph, McKinney, and some other Ilios members to the lobby. _“Better leave them be now that the case is solved,”_ Ben said seriously.

After the cars were gone, Ben stretched his arms high. _“Ah, it’s almost time for lunch. Shall we eat lunch together?”_ Ben asked them with a smile. _“Yes, I am totally hungry!”_ Kyuu answered and laughed.

They were now sitting at a fast food restaurant nearby. Their food was almost finished when Ben said, _“But you guys really amazed me. I’ve never seen such young talented detectives before! You guys are my role models now!”_

 _“That’s too much!”_ Kyuu let out a laugh and spitted some food in the process. They all laughed again.

 _“Well, now since you’re all in New York, you should have some fun. We have some well-known amusement parks nearby!”_ A big grin was on his face.

 _“Really?”_ Kyuu’s grin rivaled the big man’s. _“Guys, let’s go there after this!”_

Ben laughed again and said, _“C’mon, I’ll drive you guys!”_

* * *

Our young detectives spent time in the amusement park happily. Before they knew it, the sun had lowered down and the sky had turned orange. “Guys, let’s ride that!” Kyuu pointed at the enormous ferris wheel at the center of the amusement park. “Man, you’re full of energy, aren’t you?” Kinta followed him.

Megu turned around when she heard Ryuu chuckled. “Sorry, never mind me,” he said. Ryuu sped his pace to walk side by side with Megu to the ferris wheel.

Kyuu was the first to get inside and Kinta sat opposite him. Megu took the place beside Kyuu, and Ryuu beside Kinta. They all faced the sunset when their seat started to rise. The ride was awfully quiet. Even Kyuu did not start a conversation. He just sat in silence while watching the sunset from his side of the window keenly.

Megu was happy to be there at the moment. She was a bit ashamed that she doubted Kyuu the day before, but she was so relieved everything went well that day. She shifted her head to see Kyuu closer. She was lucky because the direction of the sunset gave a nice angle for Megu to see the side of Kyuu’s head. She could see the glittering eyes, full of wonder and excitement as always. Suddenly, Kyuu turned his head to face the city but his movement halted before he faced the other direction completely. Then, Megu saw pink colors shaded the side of the cheek she could see.

Kyuu was flustered. Megu knew the look. It was the same as when Kyuu saw a girl’s panties or when he saw Megu using clothes other than her usual apparel on their dates. What would make Kyuu fluster right now, she thought.

She turned her head slowly until she found the source of her lover’s unexpected behavior. It turned out to be her other friend. The one who sometimes also made her flustered. The violet blue haired man was still intently gazing at Kyuu. He probably did not notice Megu’s gaze at him. Suddenly, Kyuu lost his composure and shook their seat.

“O-Oi, be careful, K-Kyuu!” Kinta abruptly clutched to the metal handle that his hands could find.

Kyuu chuckled, “Sorry about that!” His face was bright red. “Hey what? Kinta, are you afraid of heights?”

“N-No! I-it’s just, it’s d-dangerous you k-know!” Kinta’s voice was wavering.

Kyuu laughed and they started bickering over it.

Megu looked at Ryuu and saw him genuinely laughed a little. It was just a glimpse, but Megu could not shake her feelings about it. Could it be that... Kyuu towards Ryuu? Or maybe Ryuu towards Kyuu? No, that’s absurd. They were both men. They couldn’t, could they?

Megu clenched her hands as she wondered.


	6. The Legacy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Case. Joseph found his father's will.  
> Characters. Megu and Kazuma had a short talk.

They gathered at Kinta’s room, waiting for Joseph. It was after some time after dinner already. “Do you think he has to stay at the hospital?” Megu asked.

“Hmm, that’s possible,” Ryuu answered.

But moments later, the door opened and Joseph went into the room. He looked a bit pale and very tired. _“Joseph,”_ Ryuu helped him to settle on his bed. _“I’m so tired. It’s a good thing they let me come back here,”_ Joseph laid back with a weary smile.

_*italic dialogues are in English_

_“What happened?”_ Kyuu asked seriously.

Joseph’s smile widened at the question, _“My blood works.”_

 _“Yes, that’s great!”_ Kinta exclaimed and threw up his fist.

 _“Yeah, but because of that they took quite a lot of blood from me and they still have to do it a couple of times in a few weeks time,”_ Joseph continued. _“Stephen is still unconscious, but they told me his condition is getting better.”_

 _“It may need some time,”_ Ryuu crossed his arms. _“So, what are you going to do after this?”_

Slowly, Joseph leaned his body forward and looked down at the floor. _“Hmm, I still don’t know. Ilios offered me to work for them. Stephen was a biology researcher, and they offered me to help their research in chemistry, which is actually what I do all this time,”_ he laughed a little. _“I can imagine their resources and research are far bigger than my company, and I think I could do better with them. But, I still don’t know...”_

He raised his head and his face turned serious, _“I’m glad for my dad, though. Melvin Rios, I mean. He made a hard decision back then, but he followed through it until the end. He raised me well too, like I’m really his son.”_

He took neat folded papers from his back pocket and opened it. _“I went to the lab once more before I went here. I remembered that Bismuth, the 83rd element, was founded by Claude François Geoffroy. Claude, the same name as my... as the one who bore me,”_ Joseph paused before adding, _“I had a hunch about it and I found this letter inside the book.”_

 _“His will?”_ Ryuu asked.

 _“Yeah, but actually, it’s more of a letter to me,”_ Joseph said. _“He wrote the whole story in this letter. His considerations, his feelings, all of them.”_

Joseph's hands tightened as he spoke. _“He always told me that sometimes we can’t get what we want, but the most important thing is what we need. I didn't quite understand what he meant, but now I do.”_

Our detectives listened carefully as Joseph continued, _“My dad loved Claude. He always wanted to be the man of her dream, someone who gives something to the world. In this letter, he wrote that Claude looked up to Joseph Lister, a chemist who invented anesthesia which brings soothness to people. That’s why Claude became a chemist. She also fell in love with Stephen because Stephen dreamt to be a surgeon. Well, that was before he worked for Ilios, but Claude’s love didn’t fade when Stephen accepted the offer. In the end, she was pregnant with Stephen’s baby.”_

 _“On the other hand, my dad was a programmer. He knew he was not the ideal man for Claude. He was close to both Stephen and Claude. So even though he loved Claude, he was happy that Claude got to be with Stephen. My dad accepted his fate that he couldn’t get what he wanted. That’s why,”_ Joseph breathed deeply, _“he was surprised when Claude told him about her pregnancy, and when she entrusted me to him.”_

Joseph smiled as he read the letters again. _“My dad thought he could never make it so far, but he did. When he wrote this, he said that he finally figured it out. He wanted Claude, but what he actually needed... was me,”_ he paused and added, _“He wrote that raising me was his utmost joy and he wanted me to someday find and fulfill my own needs.”_

After some moments, Joseph folded the papers back. _“So if you ask about my plans, I honestly don’t know. There are many choices and I want to take it slowly. Hopefully, I’ll figure out what I really need,”_ Joseph smiled genuinely.

They were at loss of words. Even Ryuu was silent.

Joseph stood up and there was a sincere bright smile on his face. _“Okay, that’s it. Let’s go to bed now. Tomorrow morning I’ll take you guys to the airport and you can fly back to Japan!”_

 _“Joseph,”_ Ryuu said.

 _“It’s okay, Ryuu. I’m fine. I’m glad I could tell it all to you. I really owe you guys much, thank you.”_ His face was truly in peace. Ryuu believed him and nodded, _“Okay, I’m glad for you too, Joseph.”_

They then went back to their respective rooms and went to bed. That night, their minds lingered on the legacy of the deceased. About what they want and what they need.

* * *

They landed in Japan the next morning and they were greeted by Kazuma’s SUV. Kinta helped the driver put their luggages into the trunk before sitting in the front seat. Kazuma and Megu sat in the middle seat while Kyuu and Ryuu took the back seats. Time passed quickly as they updated Kazuma about the case. In a moment, they arrived at the intersection where Kinta asked to get off. Kyuu and Ryuu politely asked to take their leave there as well. DDS granted them a day off and it looked like our detectives were going to rest for the day.

Megu and Kazuma waved goodbye to the other three men. Megu’s apartment was in the same direction as Kazuma’s mansion and she had become comfortable in several of Kazuma’s cars.

After the car moved again, Megu showed a troubled face. Kazuma looked at her but did not start a conversation.

At last, Megu started it. Her voice was a bit low when she said, “Hey, Kazuma..."

“What is it, Megu?” Kazuma asked softly.

“Is it possible for boys to like a lot of things at the same time?” Megu asked.

Kazuma raised an eyebrow, “What do you mean by that?”

Megu’s cheek became red and she shook her head. She chuckled and quickly said, “I’m just kidding. Nevermind!”

Kazuma followed her into chuckles, but then Kazuma pondered the question seriously. “Hmm... I don’t think I’m there yet, but it’s true that in puberty, men tend to be interested in many things. Sometimes, we can also do stupid things. I know some of my friends tried and became addicted to smoke and alcohol and other things.”

Megu turned to look at Kazuma. She was quite surprised with the honest answer.

“But in the end, I guess we will all become mature. When the time comes, maybe we will decide what’s best for ourselves. My dad was a heavy drinker once, but he broke himself free from his addiction. Well, he _still_ drinks a lot, but he is not addicted anymore.” Kazuma scratched the back of his head and chuckled.

It was not the answer Megu was looking for, but somehow she became more relaxed after hearing it. The sun was shining on Kazuma's face and that’s when Megu realized, she did not have to look down to see Kazuma anymore. Maybe Kazuma had gone taller through the year. It was almost a year after Kazuma graduated from his elementary school.

“That’s really nice of your dad,” Megu smiled widely and Kazuma suddenly blushed.

“We’re here, master,” the driver suddenly said.

True, they had arrived in front of Megu’s apartment. Megu somehow felt a bit sad, their trip felt too quick. Wait, why was she feeling like that? She thought. “Thank you Kazuma, as always!” Megu smiled before leaving the car. The driver dropped her suitcase and went back to the car. Kazuma lowered the window of his car and waved to Megu, “Have a nice rest, Megu!”

Megu waved back. “I will. See you tomorrow, Kazuma!” She said with a heartfelt smile. 

Kazuma's face was also painted with a smile as he left his pink haired friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading so far!  
> It was my first attempt writing a lengthy mystery fiction and I hope I didn't mess up too much. I really hope you guys enjoyed the mystery and the development of our beloved detectives. Comments and criticism are very welcomed!


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